point
Browse by year:

August - 2015 - issue > In My Opinion

Preschools-A Bridge from Home to School

Preethi Vickram
Director-Podar Happy Kids Bangalore
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Preethi Vickram
The last decade has seen a plethora of preschools open, giving the young parents of India many choices. Preschool education generally refers to the organized and well-structured pre-primary education programs for toddlers, particularly in the age group of 2-4 years. According to a research report, "Indian Preschool Market Forecast", Indian preschool market has been witnessing rapid growth for the past few years. There is an increasing awareness among parents about preschool being an important aspect of their ward's education. Research states that 90 percent of the brain develops in the first 6 years. This lays the foundation for all future learning. Research indicates that children who receive a high quality early childhood education have better math, language and social skills as they enter school, and as they grow older require less special education, progress further in school, have fewer interactions with the justice system and have higher earnings as adults (Barnett, 1995).

The reasons for the preschool industry growing at 36 percent, surpassing the growth of the overall education industry at 15 percent per annum, can be attributed to

Adult to Child Ratio
Higher staff to child ratios are better for young children, allowing more individual attention, reducing the time and effort devoted to classroom management, and reducing the number of stressful interactions. Improving educator to child ratios allows staff to give more individual care and attention and contributes to better social and learning outcomes for children. Educators are able to develop more effective and meaningful relationships with children, resulting in more engaged, happy and relaxed individuals. Better staff-child ratios offer health and safety benefits. Higher ratios and low turnover allow teachers to respond to the individual needs of children, to give each child ample attention and to create a strong bond, adding to the child's security.


'Local' nature of business
With the ever-increasing traffic woes, pollution and safety concerns, parents prefer preschools that are within a short distance from home. Preschools cater to a limited target area. One of the biggest criteria in chice of school is the distance the child will travel, at the time taken to travel. Small Group Size studies suggest that preschool children do better in smaller classes than in larger classes. Smaller class sizes provide the opportunity for personal attention and additional instructional help when necessary. Teachers have more flexibility to use different instructional approaches. Fewer students are less distracting to each other than a large group of children. Teachers have more time to teach because there are fewer discipline problems. Students are more likely to participate in class and become more involved.

Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
facebook